Firearm aiming device and attachment mechanism therefor

ABSTRACT

A firearm aiming device and attachment mechanism is an aiming device or gun sight for firearms and an attachment mechanism therefor. The aiming device and attachment mechanism are particularly useful for aiming/using hand-held guns, such as pistols and revolvers or short range rifles. In accordance with embodiments of one aspect of the present invention there is provided an aiming device to aid a shooter of a firearm having a barrel, an aiming device attachment member receiving slot of the tapering type, and a front aiming sight. The aiming device includes an elongated housing having a tunnel therein, the tunnel configured so it is parallely arrangeable with the firearm&#39;s barrel and alignable with the front sight. The housing has at least one light admitting opening to the tunnel and an inwardly tapering groove that is generally crosswise to the longitudinal axis of the elongated housing.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention claims priority from Israel patent application IL225266 entitled “Firearm aiming device and attachment mechanismtherefor”, filed on 17 Mar. 2013.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to firearms, in particular aiming devicestherefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fire arms, particularly hand-held fire arms are conventionally aimed byaligning a front sight with a rear sight and pointing the front sight tothe target point. The ease and speed of the alignment of such aimingdevices can be critical. As well, ease of assembly and adjustment of theaiming device is an important factor.

It is believed that the technology relevant to the present invention isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,161,675 (Sne et al.); US 2011/249,428 andAU 2010/326,607 (Profus); U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,855 (Tymianski); U.S. Pat.No. 1,852,875 (Endrezze); U.S. Pat. No. 7,562,486 (LoRocco); US2012/151,817 (Howe et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,471 (Stein); US2007/107,292 (Bar-Yona et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 7,627,976 (Olson); US2013/185,983 (Glimpse); US 2010/088,944 (Callihan); and U.S. Pat. No.5,065,519 (Bindon).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an aiming device or gun sight forfirearms and an attachment mechanism therefor. The aiming device andattachment mechanism are particularly useful for aiming/using hand-heldguns, such as pistols and revolvers or short range rifles.

In accordance with embodiments of one aspect of the present inventionthere is provided an aiming device to aid a shooter of a firearm havinga barrel, an aiming device attachment member receiving slot of thetapering type, and a front aiming sight. The aiming device includes anelongated housing having a tunnel therein, the tunnel configured so itis parallely arrangeable with the firearm's barrel and alignable withthe front sight. The housing has at least one light admitting opening tothe tunnel and an inwardly tapering groove that is generally crosswiseto the longitudinal axis of the elongated housing. The aiming devicefurther has an elongated optic fiber disposed inboard within the tunnelwhereby at least a portion of the optic fiber is operably associatedwith the at least one light admitting opening. A translucent cylinderdisposed within the tunnel between the optic fiber and the shooter ofthe firearm during shooting. A self-activating light source disposedcoaxially within the translucent cylinder. The aiming device also has anattachment mechanism disposed in and corresponding in shape to thehousing's inwardly tapering slot. The attachment mechanism has at leastone screw and an attachment member having at least one respectivethreaded female screw receiving recess. The attachment member slidingdisposed partially within the inwardly tapering slot of the housing andflares outward so as to correspond in shape and readily slide within thefirearm's tapering aiming device attachment receiving slot for attachingthe device to the firearm, whereby the tunnel is arrangeable to beparallel to the firearm's barrel.

The attachment mechanism is configured so the parallel arrangement isachieved by tightening of the at least one screw in the at least onerespective threaded female screw receiving recess. Thus, the firearm canbe conveniently aimed in a light or dark environment by aligning, withthe front aiming sight of the firearm, the self-activating light sourceor the cylinder, which respectively provide a shooter of the firearmwith an illuminated dot or illuminated annular surface produced by theoptic fiber, as transmitted through the translucent cylinder.

In the specification and claims, the term “aiming device”, orderivatives thereof, may be used interchangeably with the term “gunsight” or derivatives thereof. Likewise, the terms “gun”, “firearm”,“pistol” and the like, and their derivatives, may be usedinterchangeably herein the specification and claims.

In accordance with embodiments of another aspect of the presentinvention there is provided an aiming device attachment mechanism forattaching the afore-defined aiming device to a firearm. The attachmentmechanism includes at least one screw and an attachment member. Theattachment member has at least one respectively threaded female screwreceiving recess corresponding to the at least one screw. The attachmentmember is configured to be disposable within the firearm's taperingaiming device attachment receiving slot and configured to be receivablein the housing's inwardly tapering groove. Thus, the aiming device'stunnel is arrangeable to be parallel to the firearm's barrel andalignable crossways with respect to the firearm's front aiming sight.

Particular features of some embodiments of the present aiming devicethat it is conveniently used in both conditions of light and darkness;it is easy to manufacture and assemble; and it includes an attachmentmechanism that is easy to use and allows easy and convenient adjustment,even in the field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with theappended drawings in which:

FIGS. 1-3 are view of embodiments of an aiming device of the presentinvention,

FIG. 1 being an exploded perspective view;

FIG. 2 being an assembled view of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 being an bottom perspective view of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4-5 are views of a firearm with embodiments of the present aimingdevice attached thereto,

FIG. 4 being a rear view and

FIG. 5 being a perspective view; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view illustrating an embodiment of an attachmentmechanism for the present aiming device.

The following detailed description of embodiments of the inventionrefers to the accompanying drawings referred to above. Dimensions ofcomponents and features shown in the figures are chosen for convenienceor clarity of presentation and are not necessarily shown to scale.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughoutthe drawings and the following description to refer to the same and likeparts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. In theinterest of clarity, not all features/components of an actualimplementation are necessarily described.

FIGS. 1-3 show embodiments of an aiming device of the present invention.The aiming device includes a housing 10, which in particular embodimentsis opaque; an elongated optic fiber 12 disposed within the housing; agenerally transparent or translucent light-transmitting cylinder 14aligned with the optic fiber; a self-activating light source 16,disposed coaxially within the cylinder; and a gun sight attachmentmechanism 18 for attaching the aiming device to a gun. Light source 16may include or be constituted by a gaseous tritium light source (GTLS),for example a TRIGALIGHT®, which is particularly convenient as it isself-activating and requires no outside power source.

Housing 10 is typically an elongated structure with a generally flatbottom surface 20 that interfaces with the top of the gun's barrel, orslide in the case of guns with a slide. Optic fiber 12 typically fitsinboard and typically snugly within an elongated recess or tunnel 22within housing 10 and typically along the longitudinal axis 24 of thehousing. Tunnel 22 has at least a portion thereof that faces generallyupward and is open to the surrounding or significantly transparent forallowing ambient light to reach optic fiber 12, and will be referred toas a light admitting opening or window 26 (two illustrated).

Optic fiber 12 is disposed (inserted) a bit inboard within elongatedtunnel 22 to allow space for the insertion of cylinder 14 within thetunnel. As mentioned, light source 16 is coaxially disposed (inserted)within cylinder 14. As such, the shooter will be provided an illuminatedmark (a dot by way of the light source if at night/darkness; and anannular surface or circle via the cylinder 14 if during daylight) dot orthereby transferring light from optic fiber 12 toward the shooter. Thus,the aiming device can be conveniently used both in daylight and at nightor other such low-light conditions.

An exemplary, and particularly utilitarian attachment mechanism 18 isillustrated that includes an outwardly flaring/angled dove-tail shapedattachment member 28 slidingly fitting into a correspondingly shapedtapering groove 30 that is generally transverse or crosswise tolongitudinal axis 24. As such, attachment member has smoothly surfacedand flat sidewalls 31 that angle outwardly. Attachment mechanism 18 alsoincludes at least one and typically two screws 32 passing throughrespective through-holes 34 in housing 10 at the location of groove 30.Screws 32 correspond to respective threaded female screw receivingrecesses 36, in attachment member 28. As such, tightening screws 32pulls attachment member 28 upward into groove 30. This tightening makesbottom surface 20 of housing 10 lay flush (flat) on the top of the gun,as can be seen. Prior to fully tightening screws 32, housing 10 can beis adjusted right/left (i.e. crossways with respect to the gun and frontaiming sight 91) to align the illumination “marks” with the front aimingsight. Such attachment mechanism 18 is particularly convenient as itallows easy adjustment of the aiming device in the field, if required.And, no zeroing is required.

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate how the aiming device is mounted and the firearm isaimed. Tunnel 22 is parallel to the gun barrel. The aiming device isattached to the gun via attachment mechanism 18, which is typicallyaccomplished as follows. Screws 32 are inserted into through-holes 34and partially screwed into female screw receiving recesses 36 ofattachment member 28. Attachment member 28, now with the remainder ofthe aiming device attached thereto, is slid into the aiming deviceattachment member receiving slot 90 of the tapering type, which is acommon feature of such guns. Tunnel 22 is aligned with the front aimingsight 91 of the gun and then screws 32 are tightened to hold the aimingdevice securely and ensure also that bottom surface 20 rests flat on thetop of the gun's barrel so that the tunnel is parallel to the gun'sbarrel. The just-mentioned attachment method is contrast to the typicalpressure fit used and easily allows both assembly and adjustment.

Side walls 31 of attachment member 28 are configured, flat and smooth asnoted above, so that the sidewalls readibly slide upwardly in receivingslot 90 when attachment mechanism 18 is tightened (i.e. when the aimingdevice is assembled onto the firearm) whereby housing 10 firmly abutsthe top face of the gun barrel. When screws 32 are tightened, attachmentmember 28 is pulled upward whereby side walls 31 abut the tapered groovein the firearm and also housing 10 is thus pulled downward toward thegun's barrel, to close the gap G (FIG. 6).

In some embodiments, the housing has a pair of channels 38 in the topside of the housing, parallel to optic fiber 12, one groove on each sideof the optic fiber. These channels 38 make it easier for the shooter tosee if the front sight is properly aligned, or more appropriately said,if not properly aligned. This alignment aid provided by channels 38 isparticularly helpful if housing 10 is opaque. This alignment featureprovided by channels 38 can be most readily understood with reference toFIG. 4 where one can understand that at least the sides of front aimingsight 91 would be visible via channels 38 if the gun was improperlyaimed to the right or left.

The aiming system allows the use of only two reference points to alignthe firearm both side-to-side and up and down with a target, thosereference points being the front aiming sight 91 and either a luminousdot produced by light source 16 or an illuminated annular surface/circleproduced by optic fiber 12, as transmitted through cylinder 14. In use,during aiming, the gun is typically tilted upward just a bit so that thefront sight is visible to the shooter, and aligned with theaforementioned luminous dot, or illuminated circle. By using only tworeference points (the front aiming sight 91 and either the luminous dotor luminous circle) aiming is more easily performed, even when theshooter keeps both eyes open and is aiming at a relatively distanttarget. The just mentioned aligning of luminous dot, or illuminatedcircle, with the front aiming sight 91 also properly affects side toside alignment, as noted above.

It should be understood that the above description is merely exemplaryand that there are various embodiments of the present invention that maybe devised, mutatis mutandis, and that the features described in theabove-described embodiments, and those not described herein, may be usedseparately or in any suitable combination; and the invention can bedevised in accordance with embodiments not necessarily described above.

What is claimed is:
 1. An aiming device to aid a shooter of a firearm,the firearm having a barrel, an aiming device attachment memberreceiving slot of the tapering type, and a front aiming sight, theaiming device comprising: an elongated housing having a tunnel therein,the tunnel configured so it is parallely arrangeable with the firearm'sbarrel and alignable with the front sight and having at least one lightadmitting opening to the tunnel, the housing further having an inwardlytapering groove that is generally crosswise to the longitudinal axis ofthe elongated housing; an elongated optic fiber disposed inboard withinthe tunnel whereby at least a portion of the optic fiber is operablyassociated with the at least one light admitting opening; a translucentcylinder disposed within the tunnel between the optic fiber and theshooter of the firearm during shooting; a self-activating light sourcedisposed coaxially within the translucent cylinder; and an attachmentmechanism disposed in and corresponding in shape to the housing'sinwardly tapering slot, the attachment mechanism having at least onescrew and an attachment member having at least one respective threadedfemale screw receiving recess, the attachment member sliding disposedpartially within the inwardly tapering slot of the housing and flaringoutward so as to correspond in shape and readily slide within thefirearm's tapering aiming device attachment receiving slot for attachingthe device to the firearm whereby the tunnel is arrangeable to beparallel to the firearm's barrel, wherein the attachment mechanism isconfigured so the parallel arrangement is achieved by tightening of theat least one screw in the at least one respective threaded female screwreceiving recess, whereby the firearm can be conveniently aimed in alight or dark environment by aligning, with the front aiming sight ofthe firearm, the self-activating light source or the cylinder, whichrespectively provide a shooter of the firearm with an illuminated dot orilluminated annular surface produced by the optic fiber, as transmittedthrough the translucent cylinder.
 2. The aiming device of claim 1,wherein the housing further comprises a pair of channels adjacentlystraddling the tunnel for aiding in side-to-side aiming of the firearm.3. The aiming device of claim 1, wherein the housing is opaque.
 4. Theaiming device of claim 1, wherein the attachment mechanism comprises apair of screws and the attachment member comprises a pair of respectivethreaded female screw receiving recesses.